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Newsletter

The City of Elkins has heard several concerns from local residents about receiving phone calls attempting to solicit information or sell products from the City Hall phone number, 304-636-1414.

City officials would like to caution residents that these calls are not coming from the City of Elkins, but from telemarketing companies or individuals that have the means to use a local phone number for display on your caller ID.

Legitimate calls from City Hall will only be made by employees able to provide their name and position and for City business only. At no time will a city employee ask for private financial information from a customer.

Crews will be repairing a water line on North Washington Avenue beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 26th. Flagging will take place to direct a one lane alternating traffic pattern on Harrison Avenue. Drivers are advised to choose an alternate route to avoid delays.

The City of Elkins is currently updating its part of the Region VII Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. We are looking for community input. Please follow the link below and participate in the survey. It only takes a few minutes and will greatly inform our efforts! The hazard mitigation planning process is required by federal regulations. The plan helps increase resiliency by looking at hazard vulnerability and identifying projects to lessen or eliminate the losses our community could sustain as a result of natural and other hazards.

The City of Elkins is conducting a sanitary sewer smoke testing evaluation designed to detect ground water and storm water that is entering the sanitary sewer system through defects in the pipe or illicit connections such as catch basins or downspouts. We will be testing sewer lines adjacent to South Davis Avenue in an area approximately bounded by the river, Industrial Park Drive, and Conway Drive, as well as the Teaberry Hills area and areas around Sycamore Street adjacent to Davis & Elkins College. The smoke testing will be performed during the week of May 22, 2017 to May 26, 2017. In the event of inclement weather, the smoke testing will continue into the following week.

Smoke will be blown into the sewer system at manholes, and may be seen coming from roof vents, building foundations, or manhole covers. The smoke is a non-toxic substance which is clean and harmless to humans, pets, food, and material goods and creates no fire hazard. The smoke should not enter your home unless you have defective plumbing or dried up drain traps. Ensure that all plumbing traps, including basement floor drains, are not dry and contain water. If you have any seldom used drains, pour water into the drain to fill the trap. If smoke enters the home through faulty plumbing, this indicates the possibility that dangerous sewer gases are also entering your home and you should consider contacting a licensed plumber to identify and make repairs. You can report any presence of smoke within the house to the crews working in the street conducting the tests.

Please avoid unnecessary exposure to the smoke. Although the smoke is relatively harmless, smoke of any kind can be irritating to the nasal passages for some people. If you experience smoke irritation, it should be temporary and quickly disappear after exposure has ceased.

If you or any member of your family have respiratory problems, are immobile, or have any other health condition that you feel we need to be aware of, please contact the City of Elkins Operations Division, at 304-635-7021.

If you should have any further questions, additional information on smoke testing can be obtained in the lobby of the City Hall.

As a result of discussion with the Region III office of the US Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Elkins has been advised by the EPA that our obligation for the 5 year yard waste project under the Consent Decree signed by the City in 2011 has been satisfied.

While we recognize that the curbside yard waste pick-up has proven to be a popular service offered by the City, the burden on the City’s resources can no longer be sustained. Therefore the City will no longer be able to offer curbside pick-up of yard waste.

However, we realize that offering City residents a means for disposal of yard waste material has significant benefits, so we intend to keep our receiving area open in its current location at 31 Jones Drive.

On Monday, August 1, 2016, the City of Elkins will start adding a polyphosphate corrosion inhibitor to our water treatment process.

Here are some basic facts of what we anticipate during the transition period:

Within the first three months, August 1st – October 1st, which is the initial break in period of adding phosphate to a system, it is possible to have cloudy or somewhat turbid water in the distribution system periodically. This is an indicator of the phosphate doing what it is intended to do as the phosphate is designed to remove any calcium and iron/manganese hardness buildup in the distribution system. During the break-in period, the phosphate will form a base layer on the distribution system piping in a controlled filming treatment. This method of treatment provides a strong protective film while scrubbing away old deposits and biofilm formations and also allows for the sequestering of metals.

Blended phosphates use the ortho and poly forms of phosphate to produce products capable of corrosion control and sequestering and are more stable than many single ingredient formulations. We look forward to seeing the future results in the ongoing protection and advancement of our combined systems.

The City of Elkins will hold a public informational presentation on upcoming changes and improvements to the City’s water treatment plant and distribution system. All individuals interested in learning more about the City’s drinking water system are encouraged to attend.

Topics to be addressed include:

Discussion on current issues and concerns with the City’s water treatment plant and distribution system

Planned changes to the current water treatment process

Overview of the Water Improvement Project and its expected benefits

The public meeting will be held at the Elkins Recreation and Event Center at 6:30 p.m. on July 20, 2016.

The City of Elkins is in the process of creating its own database to notify residents of alerts in a faster manner. These alerts can be sent to residents via text message and/or email in a matter of minutes through Nixle, a community information service.

If you would like to sign up to receive alerts, email Operations Assistant Melody Himes at mhimes@cityofelkinswv.com. Please note your preference to receive alerts via text and/or email. Your information will be added to the database and will not be shared with an outside party.

We would like to thank the Randolph County Office of Emergency Management for graciously sharing access to this service.

For more information, please contact the City of Elkins Operations Division at 304-636-1414 ext. 1437.